Iran bans foreigners from working in food factories

KABUL (Pajhwok): Foreign nationals in Iran are not allowed to work in food production factories, restricting them to only hard labor if they have residence cards, a Ministry of Interior official said on Monday.

According to ISNA news agency, Mehdi Naderi, director general of foreign nationals in Isfahan city, said this during a meeting to review the presence of Afghan nationals.

According to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, currently about three million Afghan refugees are living Iran with some without legal documents. These Afghans work in different factories in Iran.

ISNA quoted Naderi as saying: “The employment of foreign nationals in our country is allowed only in hard jobs and they should not be employed in centers related to food production such as greenhouses, stores and groceries. If someone observes such type of employment of non-Iranians, they must report it to Iranian law enforcement agents and police to deal with this issue.”

Naderi also emphasized on monitoring of groceries, industries, mines, trading facilities and other agriculture fields to prevent the employment of foreigners.

Foreigners who posses residence card and work permit from the General Administration of Foreign migrants are allowed to do hard labor, or else they are not be allowed to work.

Naderi said foreigners were considered as guests of Iran and they were provided services according to the law.

aw/ma